


crisis

by Skyuni123



Category: Chicago Med
Genre: Character Study, Comedy, Episode: s02e20 Generation Gap, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29630397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyuni123/pseuds/Skyuni123
Summary: will's dad is a little more than just cantankerous.connor runs into someone's coming out and has a crisis.it's a comedy! mostly.
Relationships: Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes (Chicago Med)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	crisis

Will’s worried. It’s obvious, in his posture, in his hands. Connor’s made a life out of noticing the little things.

But it’s not just that, it’s in his words as well. 

“Are his ankles swollen?” Then, a pause. “Just look down and check.” An affirmative. “Damn it, yeah. Alright. I’m on my way.” Will hangs up the phone and kneads his forehead with his hand for a moment. “Damn.”

“Everything alright?” 

Will sighs heavily. “That was my brother. He’s with my dad. The man’s stubborn beyond belief.” He sighs again. “He’s had mitral valve regurge for like, the last ten years.” 

“Oh man, mitral valves are tricky.”

“Yeah and I don’t like what Jay’s describing.” He goes for his bag, hesitates, and stops for a moment, looking torn. 

“You going to go to him?” Connor reaches into his locker, palming his keys for a second. “I can give you a ride? If you want.”

“Man, you don’t have to-” Will starts.

“It’s no trouble. Really. My next consult isn’t for a couple of hours and hey, at least you talk to your dad. Sounds like it would be a good idea to get him checked out.”

“Yeah.” Will says, but he still looks torn. He shrugs on his jacket. “Let’s go then.”

  
  


Will’s quiet in the car. It makes a change. He’s usually so outspoken, but something about this is… tricky. It feels a little like history, if Connor was going to make a guess.

“Canaryville, huh.” Connor doesn’t make it down this end of town often. Once in a blue moon, really. It’s… different. Not bad, just different. There’s an air of character, of life to the streets. 

“Makes a change from the Gold Coast?”

“Yeah. If my sitter caught me playing around the street like that -” Connor gestures at a pair of girls kicking a ball around on the edge of the curb, “She would have killed me. You like it here?”

“It was home.”

There’s a note of something else in his voice, something Connor can’t place. It’s obviously to do with the silence, and Will’s weird attitude. He decides to continue on, get some more of the facts. Learn the history, as Will’s so often saying. “So. Your dad. Not the doctor type?”

Will snorts. “One thing you should know, Connor.” He turns to him. “My dad’s kinda a dick.” 

  
  


Understatement.

Understatement of the century, really. And Connor’s known bad dads. His dad is shitty, but Will’s dad is  _ actively  _ so.

He’s grouchy, intensely contradictory to anything that could help his health, and there’s something… else. Another thing that Connor can’t place. Will’s dad keeps on looking between them, suspiciously. He won’t let Connor handle him. He insists on walking on his own.

It isn’t until Will’s dad is in a hospital bed, reluctantly getting prepped for an angiogram, that Connor finally has a moment to speak.

“So your dad was looking at me like I was about to steal your virtue.” He says, “What was that about?”

“Oh.” Will looks faintly embarrassed, blushing a little bit the colour of his hair. “He’s a bit of a homophobe. Well. Maybe. Kind of? Sorta.” 

Connor feels his jaw drop open a little bit. Just for a second, before his head clears and he manages to stutter out, “But I’m not- you’re no-”

“I left the suburb and put myself through college, Rhodes.” Will says, with just a tiny edge of sheepishness to it. “It wasn’t just because I didn’t want to work in a truck shop with my dad.”

“Oh.” Connor replies.

He doesn’t really know what to say.

  
  


They do the surgery, Will’s dad gets discharged, everything’s about as fine as Med can be.

But he can’t stop thinking about it. The secret that he’s pretty sure only he knows. Will’s not gay - he’s had plenty of girlfriends - bisexual then. 

That’s fine. It’s fine. 

It’s cool.

But he can’t stop thinking about it.

Connor’s straight. He’s always liked women, has solely liked women, and he thought Will was too, until…

It’s funny how a sly comment can stick in someone’s head for weeks.

He even goes to Dr Charles about it, after a few weeks. He’s broken up with Robin - she’s fine about it, unsurprisingly, but there was just something wrong there, and he feels a little like his whole world has shifted.

“What do I do if someone came out to me?” He asks, because it’s the first time it’s happened. Not the  _ first  _ time, he obviously has and has had gay friends, but like… this? “Just to me. No-one else. I think.”

Dr Charles looks at him in a way that’s always a little unnerving. Like he knows too much. “Be there for them. A listening ear. Send them my way if they want to talk about anything heavier. All they’ll want is someone who is there for them.”

“He’s just-”  _ Shit.  _ That’s a little too much info. “They’re just - I think they’ve only told me.” 

“The same stands.” Dr Charles pops an almond into his mouth. “Give him support.” 

“Yeah.” Connor says, and stands. He feels twitchy, like he has something to ask but he’s not sure what. “Thanks.” He turns to leave.

“Doctor Rhodes?” Dr Charles asks.

“Yeah?”

“I’m here if you need to talk, too.” Dr Charles says, with some kind of weird smile. “Myself, Doctor Reese - our doors are open.” 

“Yeah.” Connor says, though he’s not sure why he’s asking. “Thanks.” 

He leaves. 

  
  


_ Heat, warmth, thick planes of muscle under his fingertips. He grips tighter, feels his hands tighten around his back. They move together in unison, two parts of a whole. He gasps, pressure building and he- _

Wakes up, sweat damp on his chest, dragging in air through panicked lungs.

He’s more aroused than he’s ever been in his life.

What the fuck.

  
  


It doesn’t exactly take him long to take care of things, but he flops down on his back afterwards, utterly spent.

It’s not just a physical exhaustion, it’s mental too.

He checks the time on his watch. 4.30am. 

Connor’s not exactly sure how he’s going to say to Will, “You came out to me last month and now I can’t stop thinking about it and I might be having a bit of a sexuality crisis as a 34-year old professional surgeon,” but he’s pretty sure he’s not going to say it in those words.

Fuck his life.

**Author's Note:**

> [ more of my shit ](http://eph-em-era.tumblr.com)


End file.
